1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to silane coatings for metals. More particularly, the present invention provides silane coatings which not only provide improved adhesion to rubber and other polymers, but also provide corrosion protection (with or without a polymer layer).
2. Description of Related Art
Most metals are susceptible to corrosion, including the formation of various types of rust. Such corrosion will significantly affect the quality of such metals, as well as that of the products produced therefrom. Although rust and the like may often be removed, such steps are costly and may further diminish the strength of the metal. In addition, when polymer coatings such as paints, adhesives or rubbers are applied to the metals, corrosion may cause a loss of adhesion between the polymer coating and the metal.
By way of example, metallic coated steel sheet such as galvanized steel is used in many industries, including the automotive, construction and appliance industries. In most cases, the galvanized steel is painted or otherwise coated with a polymer layer to achieve a durable and aesthetically-pleasing product. Galvanized steel, particularly hot-dipped galvanized steel, however, often develops “white rust” during storage and shipment.
White rust (also called “wet-storage stain”) is typically caused by moisture condensation on the surface of galvanized steel which reacts with the zinc coating. On products such as GALVALUME®, the wet-storage stain is black in color (“black rust”). White rust (as well as black rust) is aesthetically unappealing and impairs the ability of the galvanized steel to be painted or otherwise coated with a polymer. Thus, prior to such coating, the surface of the galvanized steel must be pretreated in order to remove the white rust and prevent its reformation beneath the polymer layer. Various methods are currently employed to not only prevent the formation of white rust during shipment and storage, but also to prevent the formation of white rust beneath a polymer coating (e.g., paint).
In order to prevent white rust on hot-dipped galvanized steel during storage and shipping, the surface of the steel is often passivated by forming a thin chromate film on the surface of the steel. While such chromate coatings do provide resistance to the formation of white rust, chromium is highly toxic and environmentally undesirable. It is also known to employ a phosphate conversion coating in conjunction with a chromate rinse in order to improve paint adherence and provide corrosion protection. It is believed that the chromate rinse covers the pores in the phosphate coating, thereby improving the corrosion resistance and adhesion performance. Once again, however, it is highly desirable to eliminate the use of chromate altogether. Unfortunately, however, the phosphate conversion coating is generally not very effective without the chromate rinse.
Recently, various techniques for eliminating the use of chromate have been proposed. In particular, various silane coatings have been developed for preventing corrosion of metal substrates. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,793 describes a technique of coating certain metal substrates with an inorganic silicate followed by treating the silicate coating with an organofunctional silane (U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,793). U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,549 teaches the rinsing of metallic coated steel sheet with a solution containing an organic silane and a crosslinking agent. Other silane coatings are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,750,197 and 5,759,629, both of which are incorporated herein by way of reference.
Often, the corrosion protection provided by a particular silane coating will depend upon the identity of the metal substrate itself. In addition, the silane coating must also be compatible with any polymer layer to be applied over the silane coating (such as paints, adhesives or rubbers). For example, while a particular silane coating may provide excellent paint adhesion and corrosion protection, that same silane coating may provide little or no adhesion to certain rubbers. Thus, it is often necessary to tailor the silane coating to the specific application.
The silane coatings (or films) known heretofore are typically applied from an aqueous solution wherein the silane(s) are at least partially hydrolyzed. The resulting silane films, however, often contain residual water that can only be driven out by a high temperature heat treatment. Although the films are usually somewhat crosslinked, higher degrees of crosslinking typically require high temperature heat treatment (e.g., 200° C.). These silane films are often very thin and fragile, and never completely pore-free or impervious to water. Therefore, corrosion may still occur to some extent when silane coated metals are exposed to a humid environment for a lengthy period of time. While high temperature heat treatment may help alleviate some of these problems, high temperature heat treatment may not always be practical. Thus, there is a need for a silane coating having improved mechanical properties and higher crosslink density, without the need for high temperature processing.
In addition to corrosion prevention, adhesive bonding between metals and rubber is also of interest. For example, many automobile components (such as tire cords and vibration dampers) rely on adhesive bonding between a metal substrate and a sulfur-cured rubber. Steel tire cords, for example, are typically coated with a thin layer of brass in order to promote adhesion between the underlying steel and the sulfur-cured rubber. In addition, adhesion promoters such as cobalt salt additives, and HRH systems (hexamethylene tetramine, resorcinol and hydrated silica) are also used to further enhance rubber adhesion for tire cords. Solvent-based adhesive systems are used in other applications for bonding metals to sulfur-cured rubbers. Although the performance of the various methods currently employed is adequate, they still suffer from several drawbacks. Cobalt salts, for example, are expensive and pose availability problems, while brass stimulates galvanic corrosion in conjunction with steel. Solvent-based adhesives are flammable and hence hazardous.
Although certain silanes have been found to promote adhesion between a metal substrate and a polymer layer, the results are typically system dependent. In other words, the amount of adhesion provided by a particular si lane coating typically depends on the metal substrate as well as the polymer layer to be adhered thereto. For example, while certain silane solutions may provide improved adhesion between a metal substrate and a peroxide-cured rubber, these same silane solutions will often not provide the same results for sulfur-cured rubber. Thus, there is also a need for methods of improving the adhesion between a metal substrate and a polymer layer, particularly sulfur-cured rubber.